Days Of Our Lives
by Chip903
Summary: Shadow The Hedgehog, Rouge The Bat, and the rest of the gang go through the drama roller coaster known as high school. They will experience happiness, friendship, and many good times with each other as well as betrayal, heartbreak, and sadness. But in the end, will love conquer all?
1. Just Another Day

_**~Days Of Our Lives~**_

_**~Chapter 1: Just Another Day~**_

* * *

_**Rouge P.O.V.**_

"Rouge! Rouge! Rouge, wake up!"

I lazily and sleepily opened my eyes and raised my head off of my pillow as I heard my name being called rather loudly. I turned to my clock sitting a small table beside my bed and it read 6:30 A.M. and it was only now that I heard the annoying alarm coming from it.

"Oh great," I said as I placed my face down on my pillow. "It's time for another long and boring-ass year of high school."

I turned over so that I was lying on my back, a sigh escaping my lips as I rested an arm over my head. You see, today was the first day of my junior year at Station Square High School and I was not looking forward to it at all. But don't get me wrong. I am very excited and happy to see my friends again, but that is basically the only aspect of going to school that I was looking forward to. Nothing else mattered to me. Another huge reason that I didn't want to go to school was that I WAS NOT a morning person at all.

Suddenly, I heard my bedroom door burst open and a loud assertive voice yelled "ROUGE!"

The door being opened suddenly and the voice made me jump in bed in shock. I turned to the door and saw my mother Sapphire standing there, wearing a purple robe. My mom is basically a slightly older version of me. We both have the same green eyes, tan skin, white hair, and body build, although it makes me jealous that her chest is larger than mine. I'm no slouch in the chest department trust me, but she makes me look so petite when it comes to our upper bodies. That's ok though. I'll catch up with her in a few more years.

Though my mom is usually cool, calm, and collected, her face at the moment was the direct opposite. One of her hands was on the knob of my door and the other was on her hip.

"Girl, I know good and well that you heard me calling you!"

I turned to my mom, the surprise and shock still evident on my face. "Of course I heard you! Geez, you could've woken up the whole neighborhood with all that yelling!"

Mom scoffed and leaned against the door. "Well then, that's a good thing. The rest of the kids here need to wake up too. You do know what today is right?"

"How can I not know?" I responded as I fell back down on the bed. "It is the beginning of another hectic year of school!"

My mother walked into the room and lied down right beside me, turning so that she was facing me and propping her head on her elbow.

"Aw Rougie," she said. I stiffened a bit as she said my nickname that she had been calling me since I was little. It didn't go unnoticed as I heard her giggle before she began to speak again. "Don't think of it that way. You're getting your 'edamacation' and that is exactly what you need to prepare yourself for the future."

A laugh escaped my lips. "'Edamacation? Mom, don't you mean 'education?"

My mom has a tendency to make up her own words at times.

"Hey!" she said as she ruffled my hair. "Don't correct me when I'm using my own vocabulary!"

The two of us shared a laugh with each other. As you can see, my mother and I have a relationship that is more like sisters rather than mother and daughter. But that is one of the great things I love about my mom. It is so easy to talk to her about anything and she'll understand completely. Add that to the fact that she is just seventeen years older than me and that makes it even easier to talk to her. It still amazes me that she was the same age I am now when she gave birth to me. It also scares me because I wonder how it would be if I had a child at the age of sixteen. You know what? I'm just going to stop thinking about that right now.

"Anyways," my mom continued. "There are a few other good things about this."

I looked over at her. "Like what?"

"Well, you get to see your friends again on a more regular basis, including a certain hedgehog."

I rolled my eyes and said with a small smile on my face, "Whatever Mom."

My mom laughed and then said, "Plus, there is one last very important reason why you should get up and get ready for school."

"Oh really?" I said as I sat up. "And what is that?"

Suddenly my mom pounced on my and started tickling my sides. "Because I will tickle you to death if you don't!"

I shut my eyes and began to laugh uncontrollably as I shook my body side to side, trying to escape from my mom. "Mom! Stop it! Stop! I'm getting up alright! I'm getting up! Just stop tickling me please!"

She smiled, leapt off of me, and stood beside my bed. "That's better. Now you got an hour to get ready for your first day so get your ass up and get to it missy!"

I sat back up after I had caught my breath from the tickle attack I had been a victim of. "FINE! I am up! Now, if you don't mind, get out of here so I can get ready!"

My mom made her way to my bedroom door and opened it. Just when it looked like she was going to walk out, she turned back to me with a smug look on her face.

"If the reason you want me to leave so quickly is because you are worried about me seeing you get undressed then you don't have anything to worry about." She said. "Whatever you have, I have more of anyways!"

My eyes bugged out and my mouth went wide in astonishment. I grabbed the nearest object I could get my hands on, which happened to be one of my stuffed animals, and hurled it at my mom, aiming right for her head. She closed the door, however, and the stuffed animal hit the door and landed on the floor with a soft thud. I could hear my mom laughing as she walked down the hallway.

I shook my head from side to side as I said out loud, "That woman is so annoying sometimes!"

See what I mean when I say me and my mom are more like sisters than mother and daughter? This is what we do all the time. And when you include my father in the mix the three of us just act three overgrown kids. But they are my parents and I love them with all my heart.

A few seconds later I got out of bed and stretched my body out. Then I decided to go take a shower. As I walked past my dresser I couldn't help but look at the pictures in front of the mirror and smiled as I did so. Three of them in particular caught my attention. The first one was of my mom and dad. Oh, that's right. I haven't told you about my dad yet. Well he is two years older than my mom, which makes him thirty-four, and also means that he was eighteen when I was born. Thank goodness he stayed by mom's side when she was pregnant with me. His name is Brian and he is a black bat with dark brown eyes. Like me and mom are like sisters, he is like a big brother. My dad is always joking around with people and loves to mess with both me and mom. Speaking of which, he and mom are very affectionate towards each other. I guess they haven't lost all of their teenage hormones, if you know what I mean.

The second picture was of me and a couple of my friends. It was taken during the summer when we all went to the beach. There was Amy, a very bubbly hedgehog, Sonic, a hedgehog that loved to crack jokes and have fun, Cream, a sweet and innocent rabbit, Tails, a fox who was a real wiz kid, and lastly there was Knuckles, an echidna who I had to admit was quite the looker. Too bad he is just so gullible and believe me, that has gotten him and us into quite the pickle at times. They were all quite the rowdy bunch at times, but I wouldn't trade my friends for anyone in the world.

The smile on my face got bigger as I looked at the third picture. It was one that would always hold a special place in my heart. It was of me and Shadow when the two of us went to the park a few years ago. Just so you know, Shadow was the "certain hedgehog" my mom was talking about a few minutes ago. He and I have been best friends ever since we were kids. We had gone through so much throughout the years and we have remained close. Now when I say we have been through a lot, I mean a lot. The biggest ones being when I had gone through an emotional breakup a few years back and when he had problems with his family. We stayed strong and was there for each other through it all and we have that strong bond to this day.

I began to look at how young Shadow and I looked in that picture. It is amazing how time can change people body-wise. We were both so small back then. But now I have a body that could put all of those big time models to shame. And Shadow has the body of an Olympian God.

I giggled as that thought crossed my mind and took the picture off of the mirror and held it in my hands. My mind began to wonder as I thought about Shadow. Now that I am actually thinking about it, Shadow was a really attractive and handsome hedgehog. To be completely honest with you, I kind of liked him, but as far as I know, that was just a "best friends" kind of like, you know? Also, I didn't want to screw up the great friendship that I have with him so I kept it to myself and didn't say anything. My and Shadow's friendship is something that I am not going to lose for anything.

I placed the picture back on the mirror and walked towards my bedroom door. I was just about to open the door when I looked down to the floor and saw the stuffed animal I threw at my mom. It was a black bear with red eyes and it had a red bow around its neck. I have a lot of stuffed animals in my room, but this one was very special to me. Shadow had given it to me as a Valentine's Day gift last year along with a box of chocolate and a beautiful poem. I smiled as I bent down, picked Shade up, and hugged him close to my chest.

And yes, I named the bear Shade.

The number one reason I loved this little guy so much was that he reminded me of Shadow. Black with red eyes, cute, adorable, snuggly…

Whoa, I am getting way off track.

I gave Shade a quick kiss on the head and placed him back at the head of my bed, where he belonged and then made my way out of my room. As I walked down the hallway I started to think about my friends and how they were doing this morning. Tails and Cream were looking forward to school starting back so they weren't going to have any problems getting up. Amy knew that Sonic was going to be there so that was more than enough of a reason for her to get up. Now Sonic and Knuckles were going to be a hassle to get up. Those two cannot stand getting up early in the morning. I feel so sorry for their parents as they try to get wake them up.

Then I thought about Shadow. Knowing him, it honestly depended on how things were going with his family. Just between you and me, Shadow doesn't have exactly the perfect life.

"I'll have to be sure to check on him after I get out of the shower."

With that being said, I reached the bathroom and walked inside to take my morning shower and afterwards to prepare myself for the first day of another year at high school.

This was just another day in the life of Rouge The Bat.

_**~End Of Chapter 1~**_


	2. Everything Will Be Okay, Or Will It?

_**~Days Of Our Lives~**_

_**~Chapter 2: Everything Will Be Okay, Or Will It?~**_

* * *

_**Shadow P.O.V.**_

Talk about a fucked up way to start the new school year.

I had woken up around 7:00 AM, the smell of alcohol present in my room. I sat up in my bed, running my hands through my hair quills as I let out a stressed sigh.

I threw the covers off of me, got out of bed, and made my way out of my room. As I walked down the hallway, the alcohol smell got stronger and it led me to the living room. Once I got there, I looked at the couch and shook my head in disgust at what I saw.

My mom, a red hedgehog, was passed out face-first on the couch, a bottle of beer clutched tightly in her hand. I also saw that there were several other females laid out across the room on the floor.

I sighed. "Not again, damn it."

I made my way over to my mom and gently shook her. "Mom? Mom, wake up."

She let out a groan and began to stir slightly. She raised her head up and looked around, a dazed look on her face.

"Who is it?" she asked in a slurred voice.

"It's me Mom. Shadow."

She hmphed at me and turned so that she was lying down on her back. "What the fuck do you want?"

Man, she is already in a bad mood.

"It is the first day of school Mom. When I woke up I could smell the alcohol from all the way in my room. So I got up, came in here, and found you and your friends passed out in here. Are you alright?"

"Of course I'm alright!" she mumbled as she backed up and rested up against the arm rest of the couch. "Why the hell wouldn't I be!?" She threw the empty bottle down to the floor and picked a full one up off the nearby table.

I sighed again.

"Mom, seriously, you've got to stop this. What you're doing isn't good for your health."

She took a drink of beer from the bottle and fell back on the couch, laughing.

"Stop? Why should I stop? This is what makes me happy! There ain't nothing like chugging down beer after beer and partying with your homegirls! You want a swig?"

She held the bottle out to me. Shaking my head, I said "No thanks."

She shrugged her shoulders and said "Fuck it. More for me." Before she started to drink again. "So you're going back to school today. Finally! I cannot wait to have your ass out of this house in the morning!"

I couldn't help but cringe a bit at her words.

She was so out of it that she didn't even notice when I took the bottle away from her and started to help her up off the couch.

"Come on Mom. Let's get you up and to your room so you can rest in you bed."

Still laughing, she simply said "Whatever."

I put one of her arms around my shoulders and got her off the couch. Because of the alcohol in her system, she was walking in a sluggish manner and mumbling non-coherent things on the way to her room.

_'It's the same shit over and over again,'_ I thought to myself.

When we reached my mom's room, I opened the door and led her inside to her bed. I gently laid her down and put the covers over her.

"Mom," I began. "After you rest up, make sure you do something about your friends. They can't be passed out in the living room all day."

"Yeah yeah, whatever," my mom replied. "Don't you worry about them. Don't worry about me, for that matter. I can take care of myself. The only thing you need to do is make sure you get your ass to school."

Those were the last things Mom said before she fell asleep. I bent down and gave her a kiss on her head before I left her room and went back my own. I sat back down on my bed and ran my hands through my hair quills as another sighed escaped my lips.

I suppose I should fill you in.

Ok. Like I said before, today is the first day of school. I am a junior in Station Square High School and to be honest with you, I can't wait to get out of this hellhole that I'm ashamed to call home.

As you could probably already tell, I don't have the greatest life in the world. I live in a one-parent home and things are just horrible here, let me put it to you that way. My mother, Angel, gave birth to me when she was just fifteen years old. I know right? Pretty damn young. She was just one year younger than I am now. She was just a sophomore in school and once she found out she was pregnant with me, she dropped out of school. A few months later, I was born and things pretty much went downhill from there.

First of all, I never knew my father. It has always been just my mom and me. She hardly ever talks about him, but I do know this much from what she has told me. His name is Damien and he didn't want a thing to do with either of us when he found out she was pregnant with me and he left her and town after their one night stand, leaving my mom and me behind.

She told me that he said these exact words to her:

_"Bitch, you must be crazy if you think I'm going to support you and a child that I know isn't mine! You have slept with practically every guy is this whole fucking city! How the hell do you expect me to believe that kid is mine, especially after we only fucked once! Screw that! I ain't doing a damn thing for you or that bastard child of yours!"_

The next thing Mom knew, he was up and out of town. A true piece of shit if you ask me. I'm glad that I never knew a piece of garbage like him and I don't miss him at all. I can't miss someone I never knew, right?

Anyways, after giving birth to me, my mom just hasn't been the same. A long time ago, if you can actually believe it, she was actually the nicest person on Earth. But it seems that after I was born she changed. It is almost like she gave up on life. She has had numerous outings with her "friends" where they did nothing but get drunk, she picked up smoking, and one time I even caught her doing crack-cocaine. Back when I was young she would do those things around me, and one time when I happened to walk in on her while she was doing it, she gave me quite the beating. As I got older, her habits got worse, to the point where it is almost a daily thing. I've done my best to help her but it is like she doesn't want help. But I'm not giving up on her. She has a job and all, but I've gotten one myself as well. Regardless of the things she does, she's my mother and I love her.

My thoughts were interrupted as I heard my cell phone ring. I reached for my phone sitting on the stand beside my table and looked at the caller ID.

It read Rouge The Bat

A smile instantly appeared on my face and I opened the phone, put it to my ear, and began to speak.

"Hello Rouge."

_"Well, good morning Sunshine. How are you this morning?"_

"I'm alright. Just woke up not too long ago."

_"Hehehe, sleepyhead."_

"Yeah, yeah. So what about you?"

_"I'm good. Just got out of the shower and wanted to call you up and see how things were going for you. Today is the day that we have all been dreading!"_

"Yeah. It's back to school time. Honestly, given the way today started, I am more than ready to go."

_"What happened?"_

"It looks like my mom and her friends had an all-night drinking party here last night. I woke up to the smell of alcohol and went into the living room. I found her and her friends passed out in there, beers and shit like that all over the place."

_"Oh man. I was afraid of something like that happening. Is she ok?"_

"I think so. She was totally wasted when I woke her up. I took her to her room and got her in bed just a few seconds ago."

_"Oh. I'm sure that she will be ok. She probably needs a good rest. You know, to get it out of her system."_

"Yeah. I'll check up on her again before I leave the house. By the way, how are your parents doing?"

_"OMG! Guess what!? My mom came in my room this morning and tickled the hell out of me to get me out of bed!"_

I laughed. "That sounds like something she would do. Did you get her back?"

_"No unfortunately. But don't worry. She is going to get hers. I promise you that."_

I couldn't help but laugh again. This girl could make me smile and laugh for hours.

_"I wonder how everyone else is doing this morning."_

I rolled my eyes as a certain blue hedgehog came to my mind. "Well, knowing Sonic, he is probably still laid out as we speak. The same goes for Knuckles. If their parents can't get them up I bet you that Amy get the job done."

_"Haha, that's exactly what I thought! I'll have to make sure I call her and Cream to see how they are."_

"I wouldn't worry about them or Tails. You know how happy they were about school starting back up. They were probably the first ones up."

_"I wouldn't put it pass them."_

The smile was still on my face as Rouge and I talked about random things for a few more minutes. She was the one I was closest to in our little group. I don't think I could've ever had a better group of friends, as well as a better best friend such as her.

Soon it came time for us to get off the phone and get ready for our first day back at Station Square High.

_"So, I'm riding with you to school right?"_

I smiled. "Of course, like always."

_"Awesome! So I'll see you in a few minutes ok?"_

"Sounds good to me."

_"OK! And don't worry about your mom. I'm sure that she'll be ok."_

I seriously doubted that.

_"Later Shady!"_

I chuckled as she called me by my nickname. A nickname that she herself gave me, might I add.

"Yeah. Later."

We hung up our phones and I continued to smile. As bad as my day started off, it was amazing how one phone call from my best friend could turn that around. Rouge had always been able to do that – cheer me up no matter what. I was so happy to have someone like her in my life. And I honestly wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

_**~15 Minutes Later~**_

I had just finished getting dressed after taking a quick shower. I was wearing a black t-shirt, red cargo shorts, and my air shoes. I looked over myself once more in my mirror before grabbing my backpack and putting it on my back. Then I picked up my cell phone and sent Rouge a quick text message.

_"I'm about to leave the house."_

A few seconds passed before I got a text from her.

_"Ok. I'm just finishing putting on my makeup. I'll meet you outside :)"_

Just so you know, Rouge and I lived right next door to each other.

I sighed. "That girl always love to make herself look good."

Honestly, I thought she always looked good, makeup or no makeup.

Yeah, I have kind of a crush on Rouge. I mean, who wouldn't? She is downright beautiful. But it isn't just her appearance that I love. She has an amazing personality, a loving family that treats me like their own, a contagious laugh…

Let me stop. I could go on for hours about her and I don't have time for that.

I got all of my stuff together and made my way out of my room. I came to a stop as I reached my mom's room and peaked inside. My mom was resting peacefully and a smile came to my face as I looked at her.

_'Don't worry Mom. Everything will be ok.'_

I closed her door back and made my way to the living room, the females and the smell of alcohol still in the room.

_'I hope she does something about this before I get back.'_

Sighing again, I made my way to the front door and opened it, stepping outside to Meet up with Rouge, reunite with my friends, and make our way to Station Square High to begin our junior year of high school.

In the back of my head, though, I truly did wonder if what I said to my mother was the truth. Was everything going to be alright?

As much as I wanted to believe they were, part of me was saying that things were going to get worse before they got better.

_**~End Of Chapter 2~**_

* * *

_**~Author's Note~**_

_**Wow, it would appear that Shadow has had quite the harsh life and his morning on the first day of school wasn't any better…Poor guy having to live that way with a strung out mother. But at least Rouge was able to put a smile on his face and that's always cool! And now he is on his way to see her before they both head for school! What will happen when the two best friends see each other?**_

_**Find out next time! Until then, my fellow readers and authors, later and happy reading!**_


	3. Gotta Love These Family Moments

**_~Days Of Our Lives~_**

**_~Chapter 3: Gotta Love These Family Moments~_**

* * *

**_Rouge P.O.V._**

I puckered my lips as I finished applying my lipstick and looked at my reflection in the mirror. Damn was I looking good!

I spun around once and gave myself a quick look over. I was wearing a white t-shirt with a pink jacket over it. I also had on a pink miniskirt that stopped just a little bit past my thighs. Finally, I was wearing white and pink sneakers.

Oh yes, I'm definitely dressed to impress. I've got to make a great first impression on the first day of school right?

I had just finished texting with Shadow a few minutes ago and told him that I would be out as soon as I finished pampering myself. It was a bit hard for me to concentrate after what he told me happened with his mom. I had hoped that something like that wouldn't have happened, but unfortunately it did. I really hope that I cheered him up. I can't stand it when Shady is upset like that.

Whoops! Getting ahead of myself again.

I put my makeup stuff away and picked my backpack up off my bed. I had gotten everything together and was ready to leave. I made my way out of the room and as I walked down the hallway, I heard voices coming from the living room. A smile came to my face as I recognized them. It was mom, dad, and Jewel.

Oh, I'm so rude! I didn't tell you about Jewel!

Jewel is my four year old baby sister. She is a grey bat with big brown eyes, just like dad's. She is such a little KID at times, I swear! You just don't know how much she drives me crazy! Always in my room messing around with my stuff, always asking me every single question in the world, and being a straight-up pain in the ass sometimes!

But, despite all that, she is just the sweetest little girl ever! You aren't going to believe this, but one time Mom asked her who is it that she wants to be like when she grows up and this is what she said.

_"I wanna be like my big sister! She is smart, pretty, and cool! I wanna be like Rouge!"_

My heart melted when I heard her say that! It was the sweetest thing! I swept her up in my arms and hugged the hell out of her! I love my baby sister so much! Although she annoys the freaking daylights out of me! But hey, she's a younger sibling. That's their job right?

I reached the living room and I saw Mom in the kitchen cooking breakfast and dad was in the living room playing with Jewel. My sister was the first one to see me and I already knew what was about to happen.

"ROUGE!" I heard her yell.

I closed my eyes and braced myself. Next thing I knew, Jewel flew right into my chest, wrapping her arms around my neck and hugging me nearly to death.

"Good morning Big Sis!" she said as she wrapped her legs around my waist and looked at me with her brown eyes. "How are you?"

_'I'd be doing a lot better if you didn't bulldoze into me!'_ is what I wanted to say to her. But instead, I said…

"I'm doing great now that I've seen my favorite little sister." I placed my arms around her to support her weight and smiled at her.

She looked at me with a look that she definitely got from Mom and said, "But I'm your only little sister!"

"Exactly," I said as I placed a kiss on her nose. She giggled and hugged me around my neck tightly again, causing me to choke a bit. Damn, this girl is going to be an ultimate fighter one day!

"Alright, alright Jewel. You've said good morning to your sister. Now it's time to eat." said Mom as she walked over and disentangled Jewel from me.

"Aww man!" said Jewel. "I was having fun with Rouge!"

I couldn't help but laugh and smile when she said that.

"Well, you can have more fun with her when she gets home this afternoon," said Mom.

"YAY!" said Jewel as she clapped her hands happily.

The smile was instantly wiped off my face. More fun with the pipsqueak!? Give me a break! Mom saw the look on my face and she gave me a look that said, "Ha-ha! Sucks to be you!" before she and Jewel went into the kitchen. I narrowed my eyes, stuck my tongue out at her, and went to say hi to Dad.

Ah, good ol' Dad. He was sitting his lazy-boy recliner couch and was watching wrestling on TV. That's Dad for you. He HAS to have his wrestling, sports, mixed martial arts fights, and all those guy things. He was really into the match he was watch as he was cheering along with what was happening in it.

"Good morning Dad," I said as I leaned over and gave him a hug from behind.

Big mistake on my part.

Next thing I knew, my dad threw one of his large powerful arms back, grabbed me and pulled me into a firm, but gentle headlock.

"Good morning kiddo!" he said as he began to gently to noogie my head.

"Dad!" I laughed out as I tried to get out of his grasp, and failing miserably at doing that. "Let me go!"

He unwrapped his arm from around my head and I playfully slapped him in the back of his head once I was free. Remember when I said he was like a big brother than a father? Now you see what I mean.

He looked me up and down and said, "Wow! You certainly are dressed to impress for your first day!"

I smiled. "I know right?" I said as I spun around again.

You know how most parents would find something bad about the way their daughter dresses? Especially when their daughter is dressed the way I am? As you can see, my mom and dad aren't like that. They know I'm not out to bring home boys or things of that nature. They know that this is how I like to dress at times and they trust me, which makes me love them all the more.

"Rouge!" called my mom from the kitchen. "Are you gonna grab a bite to eat before you head out?"

"No," I called out. "Shadow and I are going to swing by the store and pick up something to eat on the way to school."

At that moment, the doorbell rang.

"Three guesses who that is," I heard my dad say and I could tell that he was smiling when he said it.

I also noticed that he didn't even budge. "Oh no, please, let me get it!" I said sarcastically.

"That's my girl," said dad as he went back to watching TV. What a lazy…!

I sighed at him and shook my head as i made my way to the door. When I reached it I asked, "Who is it?"

"Hey Rouge! It's me, Shadow!"

A smile appeared on my face as I heard my best friend's voice. I opened the door and there he stood, and I got to say he was looking good! And I'm not just talking about his clothes either!

And judging from the look on his face he was thinking the same exact thing about me.

A low whistle escaped Shadow's lips before he said, "You look great."

Smiling bigger, I said, "Thank you. You look really good too."

Shadow got that smirk on his face and said, "Yeah I know."

Someone's full of himself today, hehehe.

"Say," I said as I looked at the time on my cell phone. "We still got a few minutes before we have to go. Would you like to come inside real quick and say hi to the family?"

"Sure," he said and I stepped aside and let him in. As Shadow walked by me I got a whiff of the cologne he was wearing. God, it smelled good! HE smelled good!

Hey, just being honest.

I closed the door behind me and followed Shadow in. Take a wild guess at who was the first to recognize him.

"SHADOW!"

Jewel, of course.

She got out of the chair Mom had sat her in and bolted right at Shadow, just like she did me. However, instead of bracing for the impact as I did, Shadow opened up his arms and caught her as soon as she connected with him.

"Hi Jewel," said Shadow as he hugged her. "How are you today?"

"I'm good!" she said as she hugged Shadow. "I've missed you!"

Shadow laughed. "You just saw me a few days ago when you went with me and Rouge to get school supplies."

"Yeah!" said Jewel with a big smile plastered on her face. "And since then I've missed you! Rouge never lets me have any fun unless you're around!"

I growled at Jewel. "Yes I do, you little…!"

"Aww, she doesn't?" asked Shadow as he turned to face me and he held Jewel closer to him. "Now why would she treat an adorable little thing like you that way?"

I crossed my arms on my chest. "Treat her what way!? I let her have fun all the time and everyone here knows it!"

"Yeah right!" said Mom as she came out of the kitchen and gave Shadow a hug. "Hi there Shadow!"

Shadow held Jewel with one arm and hugged Mom with the other. "Hi Miss Sapphire. How are you today?"

Smiling, Mom said, "I'm doing great! Wow! You certainly are looking handsome for the first day at school!"

"Thank you," said Shadow. "I try."

As if you couldn't already tell, my family ADORES Shadow. Not just him; they love my other friends as well, but they are crazy about Shadow. Jewel looks at him like a big brother and Mom and Dad treat him like he is practically family.

And I honestly wouldn't have it any other way.

Shadow and Mom talked a bit longer before he handed her back Jewel and went into the living room to talk to Dad.

"Hey Brian!" said Shadow. "What you been up to old man?"

Dad turned, saw Shadow, and hopped out of his seat smiling. "Shad! I knew that was you at the door! You know me, I'm catching up on the latest."

After doing their little handshake Shadow asked "By latest, you mean wrestling right?"

"That and MMA!" said Dad.

Let me tell you guys something; whenever Dad and my male friends get together and one of the aforementioned guy things are on TV, then it will be an outright party. I can't tell you how many times there have been pay-per-view parties here at my house and those guys just wilded out. The morning afterwards, me, Mom, and Jewel woke up to find them all laid out in the living room, sodas, chips, dominoes, and cards all over the place. I'm not going to get into the details of what happened after we woke them up. Let's just say it wasn't pretty.

"Alright alright," I said as I pulled Shadow by his ear, stopping him from sitting down and watching the TV with Dad. "Now that all the hello's and greetings have been taken care of, we have got to get going!"

"Do we have to?" asked Shadow. "I mean, this is a pretty good match going on right now."

I rolled my eyes. Shadow is such a guy sometimes.

"Yes we have to!" I said. "Now let's go!"

Laughing, Shadow held his hands up in defeat and pulled my hand off of his ear. "Ok, ok. You win."

I smirked as I put my hand on the door to open it. "Like always."

"Whatever," said Shadow as he followed behind me. "Brian, Sapphire, see you later!"

"Bye you two!" said Mom. "Have a great first day and Rouge, be sure to tell us all about it when you get home!"

Like I was going to tell them everything.

"Yeah, and tell Amy, Cream, and the guys I said hi!" said Jewel.

Shadow turned to Jewel and said, "Don't worry Jewel. We will. And because your sister was so mean and didn't do it, you can have a tea party with me next time."

Oh God, please tell me why he told her that!

"YAY! WE ARE GOING TO HAVE SO MUCH FUN!" shouted the little fungus that was my baby sister.

Shadow smiled at her and said, "We sure will."

"Can we go now!?" I said, growing a bit impatient. "I want to get this first day over and done with!"

Shadow laughed at me and after telling my family goodbye, we left the house. Shadow and I began to make our way across my yard to his car.

"Heh, gotta love these family moments. Wouldn't you agree Rouge?" asked Shadow.

"Oh yeah," I said sarcastically. "They're an absolute blast."

Shadow chuckled again but it came to a stop as we passed his house. I was confused for just a split second before I remembered what he told me happened this morning; the situation with his mom. At this very moment, she and her friends were laid out in there, drunk from their late night partying and it sickened me to think of how Angel could act that way. I wanted to ask Shadow more about what happened, but I thought that right now wasn't the right time, especially considering that we were standing right outside the house where that incident happened. I'll wait until we head to school, but then again, maybe I won't say anything at all because I know how hard that was for Shadow. This isn't the first time something like this has happened after all.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard Shadow's voice. "So, what do you say we stop by that store up the street and grab a bite to eat before heading to the school?"

I nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Shadow pulled his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the doors to his car, a black and red Mercedes. Very nice ride, I must say.

He opened the passenger side door for me. "Why thank you, Mr. Hedgehog."

He smirked and said, "You're welcome Ms. Bat."

I giggled and took a seat in the car and Shadow closed the door. He is such a gentleman, isn't he?

As I put on my seatbelt, Shadow made his way around the car and got into the driver's seat. He put the keys in the ignition and then started the car up.

"Well," he said. "Let's get ready for another year at Station Square High School."

"Oh goodie!" I said. "Another year of boring homework, annoying kids, and bitchy teachers! Yay!"

The two of us shared a laugh as Shadow backed out of the drive way and soon we were on our way. So many things were going through my head.

How would the first day at school go?

How would my other friends be?

Would we make new friends this year?

What kind of drama was sure to happen this year?

Would any of us get into relationships?

Little did I know, all of these questions, and many more, would be answered all in due time.

**_~End Of Chapter 3~_**

* * *

**_~Author's Note~_**

**_LOL, well that was certainly a cute family moment Rouge and her family had with Shadow! And now they are now finally on their way to Station Square High to begin their new year of high school, but it looks like they are going to be making a pit-stop before hand! What will happen while they are doing so? Will Rouge indeed ask Shadow for more details on what transpired that morning with him and his mother? And if she does, how will Shadow respond to her, if he even does at all?_**

**_Find out next time! Until then my fellow readers and authors, later and happy reading!_**


	4. I'm Always Here For You, No Matter What

**_~Days Of Our Lives~_**

**_~Chapter 4: I'm Always Here For You, No Matter What~_**

* * *

**_Shadow P.O.V._**

Things may have gotten to a rocky start for me this morning, but things were much better after I saw Rouge and her family. The two of us were talking and joking around about random things as I pulled into the gas station that was just a few blocks away from the high school. Although it was a short visit, I enjoyed the time I spent with her family. It gave me time to take my mind off of what I was going through with my own family.

"That sister of yours is so adorable at times, you know that?" I asked Rouge as I parked my car right outside the door of the store. She looked over at me and rolled her eyes, something that I always thought was…kinda cute.

"Yeah yeah. I tell you what, you can go ahead and take her off of my hands since you love her so much!" she said.

I laughed and undid my seatbelt. "I think I'll pass."

"Uh huh," she said in her usual sarcastic voice. She just loves talking like that, doesn't she.

I opened my car door and got out. Then I poked my head back inside and asked Rouge, "So what do you want out of there?"

"Just bring me back whatever you like," she responded.

I nodded and then made my way towards the store. I walked inside and I heard some music being played from the loudspeakers in the store. I also noticed that Rouge and I weren't the only kids that decided to swing by and pick up some food; there were a few other kids here as well. Two girls, both foxes, saw me walk in and were giggling to themselves as they looked me over. I sighed to myself and went to pick up a few snacks for me and Rouge. Girls are absolutely gaga over me at times. Truly an annoyance.

I got two bags of chips and two sodas and made my way to stand in line. As I did, I looked at a few of the other animals that were in the store. There were all talking about random things, things that I didn't really care for. Eventually, the line died down and I paid for the food I got and made my way out of the store.

As I reached my car and got back into the driver's seat, I looked over and saw that Rouge was texting on her cell phone. "Who're you texting?" I asked.

Rouge looked up at me, a smile on her face. "Amy and Cream. The two of them said that they were on their way to the school with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles."

Snickering, I said, "Sonic and Knuckles are actually up? And on their way to school?"

Rouged laughed as well. "I know right? I said the same exact thing! I wonder how their parents got them up, or maybe Amy had something to do with it."

"That wouldn't surprise me at all," I said as I handed Rouge her food.

"Thanks," she said and I nodded to her. As she began to eat, I started my car up and drove out of the gas station. As I turned onto the highway many things went through my head, specifically what happened with my mom this morning. I mean, sure, she has done this many times in the past. But did she really have to do it on the first day back to school? And when she said that she was happy for me to be gone, did she truly mean that? Or was it just all the alcohol in her system that made her say that? I don't know.

My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly and I didn't even know that I was doing it. Someone else saw me do it though.

"Shadow?" asked Rouge as she looked over at me, concern in her voice. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

A sigh escaped my lips as I kept my hands on the wheel on eyes on the road. I didn't answer her and just continued to drive.

"You're thinking about your mom, aren't you?"

Damn it. This girl really could read me like a book.

"Shadow?" said Rouge, her voice suddenly filled with concern. I sighed again. Whenever she used that tone of voice it meant that she was worried. And I hated that, especially when I was the cause of it.

"Yes," I replied sadly. "Yes I am."

"I thought so," said Rouge as she reached over and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Shadow, I've been meaning to ask you something ever since we left."

I relaxed a bit from her gentle touch. "Sure. What is it?"

Rouge was a little hesitant to respond. I looked at her and saw that there was a look of conflict on here face. It was like she didn't know whether to ask me whatever it is she had to ask or not.

"It's ok Rouge," I said to her. "You can ask me anything. What's up?"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she asked, "What else happened with your mom this morning?"

Fuck. I was really hoping she wouldn't ask that.

"When I was texting you this morning and you told me what all happened I just felt that there was more to it than that," she continued. "And after we left my house and walked past yours, you got so quiet all of a sudden."

Am I that obvious?

"So I had a feeling that there was more to what you told me," said Rouge as she gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Was there?"

I slowed my car down to a complete stop as we came to a red light. I might as well get comfortable, because this particular stoplight just happened to be the slowest stoplight in town! We were going to be here for at least a good five minutes.

I sat my hands in my lap, leaned back in my seat, and closed my eyes. Memories of my mother's harsh words came back to me.

_'What the fuck do you want?'_

_'Of course I'm alright! Why the hell wouldn't I be!'_

_'Stop? Why should I stop? This is what makes me happy!'_

_'So you are going back to school today. Finally! I cannot wait to have your ass out of this house in the morning time!'_

Man, those words cut so deep.

"Yes," I finally said.

Rouge continued to massage my shoulder as she said, "What else happened?"

I turned to my best friend and began to tell her. "Basically, Mom said that she is happy school has started back."

"Well that's good," said Rouge with a smile. "Her son and friends are going to get their education, or 'edamacation' as my mom would say."

Man, does she have it wrong.

Shaking my head, I said, "No. She was happy to have me out of the house. Probably so that she could have more of her damn drunk parties with her so-called 'friends.'"

I sighed once before I continued. "It makes me so sick that she does this to not only me, but to herself as well. Its like she doesn't give a damn about anything in life anymore, including her family."

"Shadow, that's not true at all," said Rouge in a comforting voice. "She's your mother and she loves you with all her heart. Yes, she may be strung out at times, but that doesn't change the fact that she is your mom."

I turned my head to Rouge and looked at her with a very doubtful look on my face. "I don't know Rouge. I really don't. Her habits are getting worse every day and there are no signs of it getting better any time soon."

I leaned my head on the steering wheel and then glanced at the stoplight. It was still red. I told you that this was the slowest stoplight in town. That combined with the fact that I was getting frustrated because of my family situation made me slam my fist down on the wheel. Damn, this pisses me off!

"Shadow," said Rouge, her voice unchanging. I didn't move until I heard her voice again. "Look at me."

I slowly turned to her again and saw the warm look on her face that made me feel at ease every time I saw it. I lifted my head of the steering wheel and as I did, Rouge reached over and started to stroke my hair quills with her hand. I closed my eyes and leaned into her touch. That felt really good…

"Shadow, you really are a great son to your mom," she said sincerely. "Any other kid wouldn't want anything to do with parents like that, let alone a single one. They would've gotten out the second they could. But you didn't. You have stayed beside your mother throughout all of this and although she may not want it, you have done all in your power to help her."

She was right. All of her words were true. I relaxed more as her words began to sink in and she continued to speak.

"I know that sometimes it gets hard for you. Hell, that can get hard for anybody. I just want you to know that you are never alone Shadow. I'm always here for you, no matter what. Whenever you feel that you need someone to help you or someone you can rely on, you know that you've always got me."

It truly is amazing how this girl can cheer me up so easily. Of course, I was still worried about my mom, but it was nowhere near as bad as it was just a few moments ago. A smile appeared on my face as I leaned towards her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders, giving her a hug.

"Thank you Rouge," I said generously. "That was something I really needed to hear from someone."

My best friend's smiled and returned my hug before saying, "No problem at all. I don't want you to have these things pent up inside you like this. It isn't good for you."

A chuckled escaped my lips. Leave it to her to think of my physical well-being. I pulled away from her and put my hands back on the wheel and as I did, the light finally turned green. About damn time! As I began to drive, Rouge's cell phone rang and she answered it.

"Hello? Oh hey. Yeah, we're on our way there now. We just got held up by this stoplight. Haha, yeah, that stoplight. Ok, see you in a bit."

She hung up her phone and put in back on her lap and went back to eating her food.

"Let me guess," I began. "Amy?"

"Bingo," said Rouge after swallowing the food in her mouth. "She and the others just made it to the school. They are waiting for us in the parking lot."

I groaned and as I did, Rouge laughed.

"Oh don't worry Shadow," she said holding back more laughs. "I'm sure Sonic can't wait to see you too!"

I looked over at Rouge as if she were crazy and that was all she needed to laugh once again. I shook my head and rolled my eyes as I went back to concentrating on the road.

As I drove, a few thoughts went through my head.

First, I wondered what was going to happen during the first day.

Second, I wondered if today was going to be a smooth day or if there were going to be something that jumped off between someone.

And finally, I wondered what I was going to do to a certain blue hedgehog if he tried to piss me off.

Rouge must've once again read my mind as she laughed a bit louder. I ignored her and continued on our way to Station Square High School, where our friends were waiting and where another year of school was waiting for us.

**_~End Of Chapter 4~_**

* * *

**_~Author's Note~_**

**_It appears Rouge did indeed ask Shadow about the incident with Angel and aww! She was able to cheer him up with real compassionate and sweet words, like any true friend would do! And after their small pit-stop, the next stop for them is Station Square High School! What will happen when they finally arrive there and meet up with their friends as they reunite before beginning the school year?_**

**_Find out next time! Until then my fellow readers and authors, later and happy reading!_**


	5. That's Friends For You

_**~Days Of Our Lives~**_

_**~Chapter 5: That's Friends For You~**_

* * *

_**Rouge P.O.V.**_

Despite my little jab at Shadow concerning Sonic, which in the back of my head was still cracking me up, as well as our talk about Angel, the rest of our drive to school was really fun because we listened, and even sang along, to some of the songs that came on the radio. Or rather, I sang while Shadow listened, heh. Now don't get me wrong – I wasn't trying to torture Shadow with my singing or anything like that. I have a pretty good singing voice if I do say so myself and its not just me saying that – Shadow's told me many times that I have great vocal skills. Amy and the others have said the same thing. Of course, I thought they were joking at first but when I realized they were being serious it just made me feel so happy and blessed to have friends like them. I couldn't wait to see them again.

"We're finally here."

I snapped out of my thoughts upon hearing Shadow's voice and saw that we were pulling into the parking lot of Station Square High and just like at the gas station earlier, many other students were just arriving as well, not only by bus but by their own vehicles too, and some very hot looking ones at that.

"Sure is packed," said Shadow as he began circling the lot, looking for a spot to park. "And Amy said she and everyone else were already here?"

"That's what she said," I answered as I started to look around for our friends. "Heh, and maybe Sonic made her say that just to mess with us. I wouldn't put it past him."

I knew that saying Sonic's name would rile Shadow up and a smile crept to my face as I looked over and saw him frown as well as grip the steering wheel tighter.

"Oh come on Shadow," I laughed. "Surely Sonic can't be that annoying to you."

"On the contrary, yes he can and he is," Shadow answered quite bluntly, which made it all the more funny and, dare I say, cute. "All I know is that he better keep himself in check because I swear if he gets even a little bit out of line…"

"Heh, I shudder to think what you'll do." I grinned as I reached over and placed my hand on his shoulder. "Try to relax some. It's still only morning and I know you'd agree when I say seeing our friends will be a huge relief compared to the way your morning started."

A small sigh came from Shadow after I said that and I grinned once more. Whenever he did that it pretty much told me that he knew hat I was right and he had no comeback for it. "Besides, seeing everyone may be just what you need to ensure our first day back is a good one."

"Hmph, unless we find a parking space we're not going to even get out of this car to begin the school year."

I frowned at that statement because he was right. We had been going around the lot for a couple of minutes and neither me nor Shadow could find a parking spot or our friends and quite frankly, it was beginning to get irritating looking for them.

"Call Amy back and ask her exactly where she and the others are," Shadow said, just as frustrated as I was becoming. "This is ridiculous. We should've found them by now."

"I couldn't agree more," I responded while taking out my phone, dialing Amy's number, and putting the phone on speaker and turning down the volume of the CD player. "She'd better have a good explanation, I'll tell you that much."

Shadow and I heard the phone ring a couple times. And, as you probably guessed, no answer. Ugh, will that hedgehog answer her freaking phone already!?

"Sonic has something to do with this," Shadow said after the fifth ring. "I can guarantee it at this point."

To tell you the truth I was honestly starting to believe that myself but before I could say anything to either agree with Shadow or keep him calm, an all-to familiar voice come from my phone. _"Hey Rouge! Where are you and Shadow!? Didn't you say you two would be here by now!?"_

I know good and well she didn't just ask me that. Looking over at Shadow, I could tell from the look on his face that he was thinking the same thing.

"_Hello!? Rouge!? Where the heck are you girl!?"_

Shadow's eyes twitched slightly and it was only a matter of time before he blew up so I beat him to the punch, so to speak. "I'm right here Amy. My, there's no need for you to be so loud."

"_Well excuse me, but I kind of had to be because it was dead silent over there and I thought you may have hung up or something!"_

That didn't sound like a bad idea. As much as I love Amy like a sister, she can be a true pain in the tail at times. Heh, just like Jewel.

Shadow, who was managing to keep his temper in check, turned his attention to my phone and spoke to Amy. "I highly doubt that she would hang up on you considering that she's the one that called you, not the other way around."

"_Oh, hey Shadow! Leave it to Rouge to put me on speaker and not even give me a heads up about it! Anyways, where are you two? Me, Cream, and the guys are waiting for you!"_

"Waiting where?" I asked as I began to look around the parking lot again. "Shadow and I have been going around here looking for you guys but we haven't seen hide nor hair of any of you. What gives? You guys _are _here right?"

The seconds of silence that followed after I asked that question instantly told me something was up. Definitely red flag city - whenever Amy didn't have anything to say, something wasn't right at all.

"_Oh, that's right. I never told you, hehe…"_

Dear God, this is not going to end well. I can just tell. "Never told me what?"

We heard Amy laugh nervously before she answered. _"Well…the guys wanted to swing by the Sonic drive-in and grab a couple of chili dogs, so we did and I forgot to let you know."_

Shadow groaned and threw his hands up in anger before slamming his palms on his lap. He then remembered that he was driving and quickly placed his hands back on the wheel. I shared his frustration, believe me, but I managed to control myself better than him. Barely, but I did it.

"_Sorry, sorry!"_ Amy apologized quickly. There's no doubt that she heard Shadow and was trying not to get him even more ticked off. _"I could've sworn I sent Rouge a message telling her!"_

"Well you didn't," I said while crossing my free arm over my chest. "So you all are at the drive-in huh? Just whose idea was it to go there? I know you said the guys wanted to go but whose bright idea was it specifically?"

"_Sonic, of course! He insisted actually and offered to pay for us. We didn't see anything wrong with it, especially since we still had plenty of time before we had to be at school, so yeah!"_

I should've freaking known. Why'd I even bother asking such an obvious question? That Sonic is an absolute fool for chili dogs.

"I knew it," I heard Shadow say with a slight growl. "I knew it, I knew it."

Oh man, Shadow's about to lose it.

"_Hmm? What is it?"_

It sounded like Amy was talking to someone in the background, but I couldn't make out who it was.

"_Alright, I'll tell him. Next time, don't try talking with your mouth full! That's really disgusting!"_

Mouth full huh? I'd bet any kind of money it's Sonic.

"_Shadow? Sonic wanted me to tell you he saved a few chili dogs for you but he says to hurry before he eats them himself."_

Shadow's eye twitched slightly and he gripped the wheel tight again. Could it possibly get any worse?

Yes. Yes it could.

Doing all in his power to keep from totally lashing out at Amy, Shadow spoke to her again. "Is that right? Well tell him something for me in return, will you?"

"_Sure. What is it?"_

"Let him know that when Rouge and I get there, those chili dogs are going to be the last thing on my mind."

"_Yeah? Why's that?"_

Here it comes.

"Because I'm going to be too busy kicking…!"

I quickly threw my hand over Shadow's mouth, cutting him off and finishing up for him. "Kicking back and catching up with him and the rest of you. That's what you were going to say, right Shadow?"

My response from him was one of his glares and I had to admit, it was real cute and I grinned at him. I was always doing things like cutting in to keep him from saying or doing something that would cause trouble. It's happened plenty of times, believe me.

"_Hehe, I'm sure Sonic will be real glad to hear that! So we'll see you guys in a few?"_

"We're on our way now," I said, keeping my hand over Shadow's mouth as he tried to shake it off, but to no avail.

"_Awesome! Can't wait to see you guys! Hey Knuckles, Cream and I called dibs on the fries!"_

That was the last thing I heard from Amy before she hung up and I laughed a little. Looks like the boys are already getting on her bad side. Hopefully they all will be in one piece when we get there.

Hearing Shadow growl again and his lips move on my hand, which gave me a bit of a butterfly feeling in my stomach, I removed my hand from his mouth and turned my phone back off. "Sounds like they're having a good time over there huh?"

"Hmph, I suppose. Why'd you cut me off like that? You know Sonic deserves everything I was going to say and more."

Can't disagree with that. "Believe me, I'd like to do the same but there's no need for you and him to cause havoc before you guys even step inside the school."

"Whatever you say."

Grinning, I stretched out and turned the music back up before leaning back into my seat. "Well, we know where they are. Let's head on over there shall we?"

As I finished asking that, I noticed that Shadow was already pulling out of the parking lot and heading for the drive-in. Certainly not one to wait, is he?

* * *

It took just a few minutes but Shadow and I arrived at the drive-in and for the most part it was empty. Not surprising, seeing as how it was still early in the morning and everyone's most likely either at work, school, or where I'd like to still be – at home in bed sleeping. But I digress. Anyways, I say for the most part because as Shadow and I pulled in, I saw two vehicles that instantly brought a smile to my face – a pink Chrysler and a blue Ferrari, belonging to Amy and Sonic respectively. My friends sure do have great taste when it comes to cars, don't they?

"There they are," Shadow said as he parked the car. "It's about time."

I grinned as I heard the annoyed tone in his voice and looked at our friends enjoying themselves at the tables just a few feet in front of us. Sonic and Knuckles looked like they were having an eating contest, with Tails keeping score it seemed, while Amy and Cream were having a conversation with each other on the side, with Amy stopping to cheer Sonic on a few times.

You know, it's funny – just a few moments ago I was real irritated like Shadow about not finding our friends that I didn't know what I'd do to them when I saw them, specifically Sonic since this was all his idea. But seeing them all having fun put my mind at ease and I was just happy to see them.

"Leave it to Sonic to not only be in an eating contest," Shadow said as he turned the engine off. "But to also make a detour to a drive-in that has the same name as him. Cocky much?"

Heh, he did have a good point. "Well, this _is _Sonic we're talking about here. Would you expect anything less from him?" Shadow's silence was all the answer I needed. "Come on. Let's not keep them waiting."

"Hmph, yeah."

Shadow and I both exited the car and made our way over to the others, Shadow a bit slower than me. Something tells me that his slow walking has something to do with keeping distance between him and Sonic. Shaking my head as I thought of what could, and most likely will, happen once Shadow's within arm's distance of Sonic, I went back to him, and began to pull on his arm a bit to quicken the pace. We soon stood right behind our friends but they were so into what they were doing they didn't notice either me or Shadow. Exchanging looks with Shadow, we both grinned a bit and decided to see how long it'd take for them to realize we were there.

"Okay guys, you're both tied at nineteen chili dogs apiece," said Tails, who was sitting opposite of Sonic and Knuckles at a table to our right. He was wearing a white t-shirt with blue and orange designs on it as well as blue shots and his red and white sneakers. Heh, kiddo was looking pretty good. "Whoever eats one more chili dog wins!"

A smirk appeared on Knuckles' face as he looked at Sonic. He was looking good as well with his black tank-top, khaki shorts, and multicolored sneakers. Being the most muscular of the bunch, he always made an effort to show them off every chance he got. He also had his dreadlocks tied behind his head in a ponytail. "One more? No prob!" he said as he picked up his chili dog. "You ready to lose Sonic?"

Adorned in a blue t-shirt with blue jeans that had holes at the knees and usual red and white sneakers, Sonic, in true fashion and like Shadow said, let his cockiness show by twirling his last chili dog on his finger. "Lose? That word's not in my dictionary pal! Bring it!"

Sonic and Knuckles – these two were always in competition over something and me and the others would usually be caught in the middle of it. Their disagreements would end with them coming up with random challenges, like this eating contest for example, and the loser would be subject to the winner's nonstop bragging until they got into _another _argument, which resulted in _another _silly challenge. A never-ending cycle, if you will. And they were seconds away from yet another one.

Tails held his hand up as he, and us, watched Sonic and Knuckles get into position. If I know how these guys eat, this wasn't going to be pretty. "And…go!"

Not a second after he finished, Knuckles dug into his chili dog really quickly. And he was never one for eating those things. Whatever it was that started this whole thing, Sonic must've really riled him up to accept. He was really putting it away and in just ten seconds, the chili dog was gone. "Boo-yah! Beat that Sonic! W-What the…!?"

Looking over at Sonic, I held my hand over my mouth to hide my grin. Sonic apparently had eaten his chili dog in one bite and was sitting with his legs propped up on the table, licking his fingers and lips. "Heh, you sure took your time, didn't you Knux? You should've known better to not mess with me when it comes to chili dogs buddy!"

"Sonic wins!" Tails laughed out.

Amy literally threw herself over to the other table and hugged Sonic tightly. "Yeah! Chalk up another win for Sonikku!"

Sonic smirked as he hugged Amy back and shot Knuckles a dirty, but funny, look that ticked him off. "Why you smug little…!"

And this is usually what happens when Sonic pushes Knuckles over the edge – he tries to throttle him. I decided to let my and Shadow's presence be known before any fisticuffs could be thrown. Taking a deep breath, I cleared my throat very loudly and it got their attention. Guess who the first to notice was.

""Rouge! Shadow! You guys finally made it! Heh, you sure took your sweet time! What were you guys up to, hmm?"

Sonic, of course. And although I knew he was joking, Shadow didn't take too kindly to his snide comment. "What were we up to? To be completely honest, we were thinking of a way to keep me from kicking your…"

"And on that note…!" Amy interrupted as she sprang out of her seat and came around to me and Shadow. Really great timing on her part, I must say. "It's really great to have the gang back together again! Only thing that would've made this better is if you got here sooner!"

No she didn't just go there. "Oh please. We would've already been here if you had made sure you got that message to me telling me where you all were instead of having us circle around the school parking lot God knows how many times."

"Girl, give me a break! You're not gonna hold that against me for the rest of our lives or something are you?"

That sounded real tempting. "Hmm, let me think about it." Placing my finger to my chin and turning from side to side teasingly, I held back a laugh as I saw Amy becoming more and more nervous – one of the best sights to see, quite frankly. But as much as I was enjoying torturing her, I decided to let her off the hook. "I think I'll let it slide, just this once seeing as how I'm happy to see you again Pinkie."

"Whew, that's a relief!" she said as she mockingly wiped her brow.

Getting a better look at Amy, I saw that she was wearing a white crop top that showed off her stomach and a pink miniskirt that was similar to mine. Only difference was it stopped just a bit above her knees. She had on some very nice pink sneakers and long socks that went up to her knees. And for a little bit of flair and style, she had a couple of bracelets on her wrists. Heh, Pinkie looked almost as good as I did.

"Come on! Sit and chill with us for a bit!" said Amy as she pulled Shadow over to the table the guys were and me over to the one she and Cream were sitting at. "We've still got some time left before we have to be at school!"

"But Amy, let's be sure not to stay for too much longer," Cream said, looking down at her cell phone probably to check the time after she greeted me. She was dressed the most formal out of us – a white long-sleeved button up shirt and a long black shirt that went down to her black dress shoes. She also had her ears tied back in a cute ponytail. "We don't want to be late to school on our first day. It wouldn't make for a great first impression not only to our teachers but our fellow classmates as well."

Always the responsible one.

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say Cream," Amy said after rolling her eyes. "We'll stay for a couple more minutes before heading on over there." She looked over at the boys. "That okay with you guys?"

"Yeah! That's perfect!" Sonic answered. "It'll give us plenty of time to catch up and even chug down a few more dogs!" He grinned big as he looked up at Shadow. "Shads, ol' buddy! Check it! Told you I saved a few for you! Take a load off and dig in!"

Sonic's just asking for trouble if he keeps this up.

Shadow sighed before closing his eyes and sitting down with his back to the table so he could lean back against it. "I think I'll pass."

If I or anyone else were in Sonic's shoes, we would've left it at that and not tried to edge Shadow on any further because once that hedgehog answers a question, that's it. But Sonic, being who he was, just had to keep going. "Oh really?" He picked up a chili dog and began to run and back and forth underneath Shadow's nose. "Are you sure?"

That hedgehog will never learn.

"Sonic, don't antagonize him…" Tails said but before he could say more, Knuckles put his hand over his mouth.

"Oh no, I wanna see this," he said as he grinned evilly. Ugh, that echidna, I'm telling you.

Anyways, Shadow was beginning to reach his limit when it came to Sonic. "I swear Sonic, if you don't get that chili dog out of my face…"

Sonic's hand froze. "Huh? You mean you don't want them?"

"What do you think Einstein?" Shadow asked, a frown coming to his face.

"Oh. Well in that case…More for me!" Sonic pulled his arm back, threw the chili dog up into the air, caught it in his mouth, and downed it in one swallow. "Mmm, lip-smacking good!"

He can be such a showoff at times.

"Way to go Sonikku!" Amy cheered. "I give that a perfect ten!"

And Amy did nothing but inflate his ego more.

Standing up, Sonic began to bow multiple times. "Thank you, thank you. I am humbled."

"Humbled huh?" Knuckles began as he let go of Tails and ate another chili dog. "Perfectly annoying is more like it."

I saw Shadow nod his head in agreement. That's a first – he and Knuckles hardly ever agreed on anything. Honestly, I'm surprised that Shadow didn't lash out at Sonic right then and there. He was doing a pretty good job at keeping his cool but I wonder how long that would last. Knowing Sonic and his constant showboating and wisecracks…maybe not too much longer.

"Man you know what? An icy cold drink is just what I need to wash those chili dogs down with!" Sonic said as he stood up.

"Uh, you think that's a good idea Sonic?" Tails asked with a raised eyebrow. "You just ate a bunch of chili dogs in one sitting. You sure you wanna add more to what you've already taken in? It may not be a pretty sight in the long run."

"Tails has a point Sonic," Creamed added as she scrunched her face up slightly, no doubt thinking about the sight of Sonic overdoing it when it came to food. "It's only the beginning of the school year and you don't want something like this to come back and…nip you in the bud."

Oh, dear and innocent Cream. " 'Nip you in the bud' huh?" I asked, smirking as I looked at Sonic. " 'Kick you in the ass' sounds a lot better, I think."

That earned a laugh from my friends with the exception of Amy, who shot me a dirty look. Even Shadow cracked a little smirk on his face and that brought joy to my heart, just the sight of seeing him smile.

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever peeps!" Sonic said, smug as ever with a smile of his own plastered on his face. "If there's one thing you all should keep in mind, it's this - this hedgehog doesn't do sick! And on that note…" He turned on his heel and began to make his way toward the building.

Shadow took a deep breath before opening his eyes and watching Sonic walk away. "Not here for even five minutes and he's already ticking me off."

"You think this is something?" Knuckles asked with a scoff. "You should've seen him when we first got here. Bragging about how he was going to be the number one athlete in the school. Heh, well we'll just see about that."

Shadow closed his eyes once again before directing his next words at Knuckles. "And let me guess – all his bragging is what led to this whole chili dog thing being brought up, most likely his idea, and you accepting just to satisfy your ego right?"

Knuckles looked like he was going to answer, or more like yell, but Tails beat him to the punch. "Yeah, that's pretty much exactly how it happened. And as for the end result of it, well, you know how that went."

The girls and I couldn't help but chuckle, which caused a blush to come to Knuckles face that was as red as his fur before bopping Tails on his head. "Oh shut up!"

Hehe, poor Tails.

Doing all he could to maintain what little composure he had left, Knuckles stood up off the bench. "Anyways, let's go make sure that Sonic doesn't put this place out of business. He may be in there getting more chili dogs for all we know."

"Come on Knuckles," Tails said as he was rubbing the spot on his head Knuckles hit him. "Sonic isn't _that _bad when it comes to…"

Before he could even finish that sentence, all five of us just gave Tails a look that pretty much said "Don't even go there."

"Erm, scratch that, heh heh," he said with a nervous laugh before standing up as well. "I'll go with you."

Shadow turned his head to them and sighed before standing up too. "Hmph, guess I'll come too, in order to keep you both from getting into it again and wasting even more of my and everyone else's time."

That one really irked Knuckles but before he could do anything, Tails began to push him towards the building, many obscurities coming from the knucklehead. Shaking his head at them, Shadow turned to me and mouthed 'Be right back' before following the guys.

"Amy, Cream, what're we going to do with those four?" I asked once us ladies were alone.

"Who knows?" Cream giggled. "But you know what they say - boys will be boys."

No kidding there.

"And speaking of which…" Amy began as a thoughtful look came to her face. "Shadow seemed a lot more quiet than usual. I wonder what's up."

Darn. I knew that at least one of them would catch onto that.

"Amy, you know Shadow's always been the quiet type," said Cream. "He probably didn't want to say anything that would make Sonic keep bragging. He looked like he was already irritated with him enough as is."

"Maybe, but I don't know," said Amy as she crossed her arms under her chest. "He just seemed to be quieter than he usually is, like something was bothering him. Rouge, you wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Oh, I knew alright. "Let's just say…that Shadow didn't have the best wake up call this morning."

Amy seemed to pick up immediately on what I meant. "Angel?"

"Yeah," I answered with a single nod.

"Oh dear," Cream said in a worried tone. "What happened this time?"

"Apparently she and her friends had a late night and they all decided to crash at her place. They were all still there when Shadow woke up and I wouldn't be surprised if they were still there."

Cream placed a hand to her chest, most likely because she felt her heart skip a beat at what I said. "My gosh. Hopefully they're gone by now."

"They'd better be!" Amy exclaimed, and quite loudly at that. "That's completely messed up! What kind of mom is she!?"

I didn't know when the guys would be back and I didn't want Shadow to catch Amy going on one of her tirades, so I waved her off and attempted to calm her down. "Mind keeping it down Pinkie? Shadow's already peeved about it and I'm positive that Sonic didn't help matters much with his antics. The last thing he needs right now is to come back here and find out that you're ranting and raving about his mom."

"She's right Amy," said Cream as she looked at the hedgehog. "I feel the same way, but let's just pretend that we didn't hear anything so that we don't worry Shadow okay?"

Amy looked at both of us a few times before letting out a deep breath and claming herself down, thank goodness. "Alright alright, I'll leave it alone. I just really feel for him and hope that Angel gets her act together, for her sake as well as his."

"I hope so too," said Cream as she picked up a French fry and ate it. "Perhaps things will be better by the time school's out for the day."

As you can probably already tell, the rest of my friends know about Shadow's hardships with his mother as well. They just don't know as much as I do and honestly I shared Amy's frustration. This just wasn't the time for this sort of thing and she, as well as me, had to keep our emotions in check for the time being.

Suddenly, Cream let out a small scream. "Oh my gosh! School! We need to hurry and get over there! We still haven't gotten our schedules!"

I laughed softly. "Cream, it's only the first day. They'll let us slide if we're a little bit late."

"That's not the point!" she said as she began to gather up her books that she had on the table. "Remember what I said about making a good first impression!? Being there on time, as well as having our materials ready at the get-go, is going to be the most important thing the faculty looks for!"

Man, she really needs to loosen up a bit.

"Alright Cream, relax!" Amy laughed as she stood up. "As soon as the guys get back we'll…" She heard the door to the main building up and Shadow and the others were coming out, Sonic drinking a soda in one hand and eating a chili dog from the other. "Oh! Perfect timing! Hey guys, we'd better get rolling and get to the school!"

"Oh man, I nearly forgot about the time!" said Tails as he rushed over and quickly slung his backpack on his shoulders. "How much time do we have left!?"

I'm telling you, he's just as bad as Cream when it comes to not wanting to be late.

"About twenty minutes and counting!" Cream answered. "Come on everyone, let's go!" She and Tails quickly hurried over to Amy and Sonic's cars and got inside. It truly is a hassle to put up with not one but two eggheads.

"Those two seriously need some chill-pills," said Knuckles as he walked over to Sonic's car. "It's not like the school's going anywhere."

It was very rare to I myself agreed with Knuckles but this was one of those times. "I know right? But Cream's got a point. We should hurry and see what classes we have this year."

"And you know what I just remembered?" Amy said as we all began to make our ways back to the cars, her taking the French fries she and Cream were eating with her. "Tails and Cream are the only ones that actually went in and picked out what classes they wanted. We didn't and are pretty much getting classes at random."

"Which makes it all the more important for us to get there as quickly as possible," said Shadow as he and I reached his car and he narrowed his eyes in Sonic's direction. "If it weren't for a certain somebody, we would already be there, all of us with schedules in hand."

Sonic laughed and waved Shadow off as he opened the driver's side door of his car and cockily stood on up on it. "Details details! The real important thing is that none of us will be arriving there with empty stomachs!"

"You mean, _you _won't be arriving with an empty stomach, don't you Sonikku?" Amy asked with a grin, getting into her car and starting it up.

"Heh yeah, what she said!" Sonic replied as both he and Knuckles got into his car and he started it up seconds later.

Shaking my head at those hedgehogs again, I noticed that Shadow had opened the passenger side door for me, just like how he had done back home and I couldn't help the smile that came to my face. He's such a gentleman, unlike a certain blue hedgehog and red echidna I know. Thanking Shadow, I sat down and buckled up before he got into the driver's seat and did the same. We closed our doors and as he started up the engine, we were all ready to head out…that is until I once again heard Sonic's voice ring out.

"Yo, Shadow bro! Nice paint job you got on ol' Mercy! You got her done up really well!"

Had to agree with that one.

"Yeah, and it'd be in your best interest not to do anything to mess it up," Shadow said in a bit of a threatening tone to Sonic. Heh, there was something about that particular tone of voice that I really like and I smirked to myself.

Damn, thinking too much again.

Sonic, on the other hand, wasn't smirking or laughing in the slightest. "Dude, I'm offended! Am I the kind of guy that would do something like…"

"Yes, you are," Shadow answered before Sonic could finish the question, making me laugh again. It's always so fun to see Shadow get the upper hand on Sonic like this. Cracks me up every time.

"Pssh, whatever man!" Sonic spat as he finished the chili dog he was eating and rolled the wrapper up into a ball. He looked around for a trash can and spotted the nearest one, which just so happened to be in front of Shadow's car.

Uh-oh.

"Three pointer, from way downtown!" Sonic called out as he threw the wrapper.

"Dollar says you miss!" said Knuckles as he, like myself, watched the wrapper fly through the air…only for it to not only miss the trash can but also land on the hood of Shadow's car and some of the remaining chili splattered on it. "Haha, yes! You owe me a dollar Blue Boy!"

This was definitely not a good thing, especially when you consider the fact that Shadow heard it. "What was that?" he asked as he turned to look at the hood and at the sight of the wrapper his eyes raged with fury. "Sonic!"

Sonic chuckled a bit as he slowly shied back into his seat. "Heh heh, my bad Shad!" He looked over and saw Shadow getting out of the car and storming over towards him. "And uh, on that note…See ya!" With that said, Sonic quickly reversed his Ferrari out of the parking lot and took off down the street, his tires screeching.

"Get back here!" Shadow yelled out and it seemed as if after he yelled that, Sonic sped up. Oh yeah, Shadow's gonna be gunning for him for the rest of the day.

"Hehe, relax Shadow!" Amy said as she backed out of her space as well and drove past him. "I'm sure Sonic didn't mean it so don't let it get to you! Anyways, we'd better motor over to the school! See you guys there!" She pulled out of the driveway and followed after Sonic on the highway, proceeding to turn her music up for all to hear.

Shadow let out a growl, which I had to admit was cute, as he walked up to one of the tables, got some napkins, and wiped up the splatters of chili from the hood before throwing them and the wrapper away. He got back into the car and after buckling up and closing the door looked back at me. "Make me a promise Rouge."

"Sure, anything," I giggled. "What?"

Shadow started the car up and began to pull out of the drive-in. "Promise me that you'll come visit me while I'm in jail because I'm definitely going after I kill Sonic."

I laughed for a good couple of seconds before regaining my composure. He's way too much at times. "Oh trust me, if you were to go to jail I'd either go in with you or bail you out. Life would be too boring without you around."

"At this point it'd be worth it to be rid of that pain in the neck," he replied as he started to follow in the same direction Sonic and Amy went.

"Oh, you kidder," I said with a smile as I placed my hand over his free one in an attempt to help calm him down. "Like Amy said, it wasn't like Sonic was trying to do that on purpose. No need to kill him over an accident, right?"

It looked like Shadow was really thinking about that question and that made me want to laugh even more. So serious, this hedgehog. "Hmph," he finally answered. "Alright, he gets to keep his life. For now."

"Good boy," I said as I patted his hand a few times. "Now then, let's catch up with everyone before Sonic decides to make another detour."

Shadow nodded and we continued on our way behind our friends to school. And I kept my hand on his the entire drive as I thought about seeing our friends again. Like I said before, they can be quite the bunch but I couldn't have asked for better friends than them. Despite the little spats we get into, like with Sonic and Knuckles as well as Shadow wanting to go postal on Sonic, we get past them and it makes us stronger. Plus, it gives us lots of funny stories to tell in the future.

But hey, that's friends for you – spending both the best of times as well as the worst of times with them and becoming closer with each passing day. I look forward to wait awaited us when we finally began our new year of high school.

_**~End Of Chapter 5~**_

* * *

_**~Author's Note~**_

_**Shadow and Rouge have reunited with their friends and after a few missed text messages, detours, friendly challenges, and missed free throws into a trash can, they're all off to Station Square High to finally begin their new school year! But what else will transpire when they arrive back at the school?**_

_**Find out next time! Until then my fellow readers and authors, later and happy reading!**_


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